RA AND THE FAMILY FIT

I have RA and I will never be the same. I will forever miss those pain and fatigue free days. I am now adjusting to all that I have lost because of it. The pain is unpredictable, the fatigue is overbearing but above all I have to get used to being a new person that has to learn to adjust to all that has been thrown my way.

I wake up I feel pain, I get up I feel tired. I walk around I’m moving slow. I miss me. I miss what Rheumatoid Arthritis has stolen from me. Yet I still go on by grace. We all feel the loss of ourselves but we keep on going.

Learning to live with RA is really a challenge but what else can I do. I put one foot in front of the other and move forward. I take with me those who wish to follow and understand because I can’t wait for those who don’t. The challenge is too great to pull others along. My energy is on myself.

So as I make my way through this life with Rheumatoid Arthritis, I will do the best that I can with all that I can and have. Things will get tough but there will be good days. I realize what this disease has stolen from me but I realize also what I still have. Through it all I am still Blessed.

For each of you on your struggle with pain, loneliness and misunderstanding I wish you the best, I truly understand. Keep fighting through the struggles.

Be Blessed.

Being someone who has Rheumatoid Arthritis I can’t began to tell you what a tasking battle this has been from being diagnosed to finding the correct medication that works for you. Those that also have this disease can attest to what a struggle this can be.

You go along in life dealing with the struggles, tough as they maybe but never forgetting to give God His Glory. Through it all you’re trying to maintain the balance of life with RA while wishing more than anything this wasn’t your reality. For us every day is definitely an uncertain day. Sometimes it seems you’re on the path of what we can best call stability to find out there really isn’t stability when Rheumatoid Arthritis strikes.

The up and down battle of pain, medication and emotions keeps us in a constant turmoil. You find yourself often wondering will there ever be relief or if the new painful condition you’re experiencing is a new firestorm from RA. What no one realizes, this disease and the medication used for its treatment causes more issues than we can count.

After being diagnosed and placed on medicine I’ve watched how my blood pressure slowly creeped up, my cholesterol take off and I am pre diabetic. Now to add to that, seeing my emotions spiral while dealing with these new findings. All the while knowing stress is our worst enemy and is bad for us as sufferers. With stress, a Flare is just a heartbeat away.

Our frustration builds day after day because this is a never ending journey. Some days may be better than others but nonetheless RA for us here to stay and dictate our days. We often put on brave fronts for others but to be honest it can be more for ourselves simply because many just don’t understand what we go through. Explaining it can be a task in itself and often met with misunderstanding. How do you explain you can barely walk when it’s not visible or how much your body hurt when you may look perfectly normal. This is just the tip of our frustrations. So you see there lies the daily frustration building in some form or fashion.

I will say, as we walk this tireless and sometimes lonely journey, please find comfort in knowing those of us that have this terrible disease along with you, knows your plight.

Be Blessed.

I am not lying about my disease, you just refuse to believe me
I am not a complainer, I just want to be heard
I am not seeking attention, I really am sick
I am not being lazy, I just cannot do some of the things I use to
I am not broken, I just happen not to be an easy fix
I am not my disease but it has changed who I am
I am not invisible but this disease can make what I’m going through seem so
I am not misunderstood but Rheumatoid Arthritis surely is!

With Rheumatoid Arthritis we spend so much time explaining our illness, our symptoms and why we can’t be the way we once were. We pay mentally the cost for having this horrible disease though it’s not the fault of our own. The doubts, the looks, the misunderstanding is just some of what we have to endure because of RA. Because of this we endure loneliness on a level many would not believe making us feel sometimes as invisible as some of our symptoms.

We are not many of the things people think we are but we are, this disease has made us. A person suffering with a chronic life long, life changing, debilitating auto immune Disease.

Be Blessed.